Northern Illinois University
Department of Psychology
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Kara Styck
Assistant Professor, School Psychology

Research Interests

I study psychological measurement. In particular, I am interested in developing tools that improve how we measure psychological attributes (i.e., cognitive ability, social skills, and academic engagement and motivation) for students in K-12 and higher-education classrooms. I am also interested how psychological measurement impacts educational decisions for students (e.g., screening, progress monitoring, probable diagnoses, etc…).

Frequently Taught Classes

• PSYC 324: Developmental Child Psychology
• PSYC 640: Theory and Assessment of Intellectual Functioning
• PSYC 648: Consultative Interventions for School and Community Settings

Representative Publications

⁺Indicates student co-author

Styck, K. M., Malecki, C. K., Ogg, J. A., and Demaray, M. K. (in press). Measuring COVID-19-Related Stress among 4^th through 12^th grade students. School Psychology Review. Advance online publication. 

Anthony, C. J., Styck, K. M., ⁺Riddle, D., ⁺LaBelle, B., and ⁺Flavin, A. (in press). Identifying and correcting scores for rater variability on the Academic Competence and Evaluation Scales. School Psychology Review. Advance online publication. 

Styck, K. M., ⁺Rodriguez, M. C., and ⁺Yi, E. H. (in press). Dimensionality of the State-Trait Inventory of Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety. Assessment. Advance online publication. 

Styck, K. M., Anthony, C. J., Sandilos, L. E., and DiPerna, J. C. (in press). Examining rater effects on the Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Child Development. Advance online publication.  

Calderón, C. A., Styck, K. M., Vega, D., and Kranzler, J. H. (in press). Evaluating cultural and linguistic load of intelligence test scores for English language learners. International Journal of School and Educational Psychology. Advance online publication. 

Styck, K. M., Villarreal, V., and Watkins, M. W. (2020). Confirmatory factor analyses of the Baylor Revision of the Motivation to Read Survey (B-MRS) with middle school students. School Psychology, 35, 1-9. 

Styck, K. M., Beaujean, A. A., and Watkins, M. W. (2019). Profile reliability of cognitive ability subscoes in a referred sample. Archives of Scientific Psychology, 7, 119-128.  

Gervais, S. J., Davidson, M. M., Styck, K. M., Canivez, G. L., and DiLillo, D. (2018). The development and psychometric properties of the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale—Perpetration Version. Psychology of Violence, 8, 546-559. 

Watkins, M. W., and Styck, K. M. (2017). A cross-lagged panel analysis of psychometric intelligence and achievement in reading and math. Journal of Intelligence, 5, 31.  

Styck, K. M., and Watkins, M. W. (2017). Structure of the WISC-IV for students with ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 21, 921-928. 

McGill, R. J., Styck, K. M., Palomares, R. S., and Hass, M. R. (2016). Critical issues in specific learning disability identification: What we need to know about the PSW model. Learning Disability Quarterly, 39, 159-170. 

Styck, K. M., and ⁺Walsh, S. M. (2016). Evaluating the prevalence and impact of examiner errors on the Wechsler scales of intelligence: A meta-analysis. Psychological Assessment, 28, 3-17. 

Styck, K. M., and Watkins, M. W. (2016). Structural validity of the WISC-IV for students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 49, 216-224.  

Styck, K. M., and Watkins, M. W. (2013). Diagnostic utility of the Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix for the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children-Fourth Edition with a referred sample. School Psychology Review, 42, 367-382.